It had been several hours since Adam visited me in my room and I had begun to grow restless. Dr. Acharya said that whilst I was free to move about the hospital grounds, he needed Eric to keep watch on me whenever I was outside my room for "my own safety", as he put it.
"There isn't much to do here, just so you know." Said Eric as he walked by my side, towering over me.
"Taking a short walk is still better than being cooped up all day." I said, trying to lighten the mood.
Eric didn't respond. His face remained cold and stern. I was feeling a bit uneasy by his silence, so I decided to break the ice.
"So, um, how long have you been working here?"
Eric looked back at me for a second, his expression forlorn.
"Year and a half. I was on the same caravan as Dr. Acharya. When he was looking for staff I decided to pitch in. 'Had no advanced medical experience but my years on the field taught me the basics."
""On the field?" You were a soldier?"
Eric's expression showed distress.
"I was part of a resistance squad years ago. Not XCOM, just a small team defending a settlement in the Southlands. Don't really want to talk about it."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"No need to say sorry." He paused just after we stepped off the stairs and landed on the ground floor.
"I was less than two years ago but it feels much longer than that…"
He gave a short sigh before walking on.
"Where are the Southlands?" I asked.
"They're the unoccupied zone between the New Mexico and Eastern US regions. My home was in a place called Cavetown, in the Arizona desert."
"Why was it called that?"
"Most of the settlement was carved into the rocks outlining the valley. There was a whole system of tunnels and chambers stretching in and out of the valley." Eric had a small smile on his face as he said this, the first one I saw on him since I arrived here.
"You'd have the houses and towers lined across the rock with the tents and markets in the basin of the valley. We found a way to grow edible fungi in the caves down below, while succulents were farmed topside."
Eric was about to continue his story when he suddenly stopped behind a small crowd of twenty or so people gathering around the corner of hall. Eric then pointed to a television that was mounted on the corner of the ceiling. There was a young man with messy brown hair and a grey suit with a red background behind him on the screen.
"Pay attention to this." Said Eric.
I focused my attention to the man on the screen.
"…AB forces have been successfully pushed back from the city of Brasilia. Whilst many are celebrating the city's freedom, XCOM has condemned the former Major, Pedro Vargas, for excessive force and neglecting the safety of extra-terrestrial citizens. Pedro Vargas, the leader of the year-long campaign, was first stationed in New Brazil in 2037 by XCOM to free the region from the pro- Advent group "Ahuras Bamas". The Major was dishonourably discharged from XCOM four months into the campaign for disobeying orders and misuse of supplies, yet his forces, the Southern Division, have remained by his side. Vargas responded saying that his higher-ups' hesitance to act was what caused the insurgents to have the upper hand and forced him into disobeying orders. The leader of Ahuras Bamas, a Sectoid calling himself João de Ahuras, has fled to the Amazon along with the remaining-"
It was then the television blacked out, causing the crowd to grumble and groan in annoyance.
I looked back at Eric, who looked back at me with a fake smirk.
"I knew it would do that."
Eric sighed and looked down before returning his gaze at me.
"There can never just be peace, can there?"
Whilst I was a bit confused by all that the newsman had said, I did understood the general points.
"That's never the case. It never was in the past, no reason it would change now."
It was only then I really got a sense of how much time had passed since I was in stasis. I looked back at Eric. To me, he looked like a fit young man in his early thirties. But then I realized, I was probably older than him if I were in stasis for over twenty years!
"You're right." Said Eric, putting his hand to his forehead.
"I'm a soldier, I should know this."
It was then I noticed Adam walking down the hall, he smiled as he saw me.
"Hey, Eric, George! How are you two doing?"
"Good." Responded Eric, with his arms folded.
"Well, enough." I pointed to the TV.
"I figured out what was going on in Brazil."
Adam's smile dropped and he looked off to the side a bit.
"Ah, the Brazilian Crisis."
I took note of his forlorn expression.
"Are you alright?"
"Hm? Oh, yes. It's just that I don't like hearing about that kind of thing. Best to focus on the positives, on we have here, yes?"
"…Good mindset to have." I replied.
"What's that you have there?" I said, pointing to a blue plastic box he held in his right arm.
"Oh, that's just my lunch. Hey, do you want to get some lunch and sit out in the courtyard with me? I know a good spot?"
More hospital food. Whilst I was hungry, I doubted that lunch would be any better than the brittle meal I was served this morning. But it would be better to have some company by my side.
"Um, Eric, is that fine with you?"
"Sure, but I have to be with you. Safety reasons and all that."
"Ah, keeping the paparazzi away from him eh?"
"Adam!" Said Eric in a hushed but irritated tone.
"Sorry."
"Paparazzi?" I asked, puzzled.
Adam looked about and leaned in towards me.
"When you brought in yesterday morning, a big crowd was following you. It took a while for us to make them go away." Replied Adam, quietly.
"Woah, so everyone knows?"
"Not everyone." Said Eric.
"The people outside only saw your capsule. I don't think anyone other than the Clean-Up Crew really saw your face. Only some of the staff around here really know that you were the guy in there, and we've been asked to keep it quiet."
"I've been hearing about this "Clean-Up Crew", who are they?" I asked.
"They're a bunch of engineers and scavengers that keep the machines in the outer city running. They were the ones that got the dam back up and running last year."
"I see… You said I was in a capsule?"
"Not here, George."
"Right, sorry."
"Well then, lunch?" Asked Adam.
"Sure." I responded. I did want to talk to Adam more, especially since he was the only other one I had met who had similar powers to mine, that and I wanted to find out more about him, specifically, what he was.
"I'll be tagging along." Said Eric.
"I promise not to be too intrusive." He said, deadpan.
"Alright then." Said Adam.
After heading off to the cafeteria to grab a "Lunch unit", which consisted of a brown soup and a pale, yellowy mash material, I headed to the courtyard. It was a partly cloudy day, and it felt a bit warmer than yesterday. Adam led me and Eric to a set of wooden benches in the corner of the courtyard. There were some vines, the only green life I had seen outside, climbing up the surrounding walls. Eric leaned by a clear patch of the wall a way behind us while Adam and I sat across one another at the bench.
"Eric!" Said Adam, turning around.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"I'm fine."
"Alright."
Adam looked back at me.
"He can be a bit lonesome at times, but he means well."
"He probably doesn't want to sit with us if he's not eating anything. It would be awkward."
"Really? Hmm, makes sense. Even though I've been amongst humans for a while now I have to keep remembering these social things. I don't have that "social instinct", as Dr. Acharya called it."
"I get what you mean. I have a similar issue too."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's something you have to learn and be conscious about. But it gets easier the more you learn."
"I'll keep that in mind." Said Adam as he undid the clasps on his box.
I expected to see some strange alien food, like a tube of purple paste or some fresh cut of space tentacle. Imagine my surprise when he pulled out a small sandwich.
"Where'd you get that?" I asked, as it certainly looked better than what lay on my side of the table. Real bread with what looked like some dark green vegetable paste between them.
Adam took a bite from sandwich, and started moving his jaw in a subtle circular motion before responding.
"The market outside Tenttown. The bread is a bit hard but with the new allotment they opened up they were selling this stuff." He pointing to the green paste.
"It's not as good as it looks, the paste is bit sour, but it's way better than the reserves those machines make."
"Yeah, um, right." I said, trying to change the subject.
"Adam?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you about like, well, what you are? I don't want to come off as rude but, I've never seen anything like you. I just want figure it out."
Adam's eyes appeared to light up.
"Go ahead, I mean, I have a lot of questions for you as well, about the past. So… Twenty questions style? You first?"
"Sure."
Where to start? Alien, powers, why is he here, how did he get here? One question erupted from my mind and stood out from all others.
"What planet are you from?"
Adam threw his head back and gave a chirpy laugh.
"Oh, I wish I could tell you I came from Zablog nine and my people lived inside sentient mushrooms that served as our flying saucers."
Adam steadied himself and put his hands together on the table.
"But, that's not the case. Oh, where to begin…" He said, putting his finger on his small chin.
"You see, I share, I would say, half of my DNA, with you." He said, pointing at me
"You're a hybrid?"
"Oh, no, I'm not one of those."
"You see, my, uh, predecessors, that arrived on Earth during the first invasion, were about three feet tall and had grey skin. After Advent gained control, they designed a few variant of Sectoid, using human DNA, to create my kind."
"So you were born on Earth?"
"Yeah, the cloning facilities were kept in places far away from the cities. In jungles, mountains. I don't really remember those very early days."
I wanted to ask him about his life during that time, but I felt it would be too uncomfortable, remembering my encounter with Eric. Still, I wanted to learn about him and his kind, so I had to choose my words carefully.
"So when were you, um, cloned?"
Adam blew air through his teeth, making a light hissing sound. Perhaps his attempt at a whistle.
"That must'a been… in '31? About seven years ago, yeah."
I looked at Adam for a second.
"You're a big seven year-old."
Adam gave a short laugh. It sounded like a cackle, the sound coming from his throat.
"And you look young for a, what? Forty year-old?"
I began to chuckle, with Adam soon following in tow. The absurdity of the situation the situation dawned on me just then. Here I was, sharing lunch in the future with a human-alien clone. I knew my life was destined for weirdness, but could never have expected this.
"Alright. It's my turn. When I saw you in your room this morning, you were meditating, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was." I remembered seeing his black eyes peeping through the door window.
"I thought I was the only one here that did that."
This was unexpected.
"You meditate as well?"
"Yes, I was taught how to do it during my training years ago. It helps regulate my psionic energy."
Of course! It made so much sense that the same methods would be used to develop such abilities, whether they be called siddhis or psionics.
"How were you trained?"
"Um, I wasn't really trained. I just read a lot of books on the subject. Things like the Occult, Tantra, and Hermetics."
Adam gave a confused look. I worried that some of these terms might have gone over his head.
"You… gained your powers just by reading books?"
"Well, no. They showed methods on how to attain higher states of consciousness, which was what I was aiming for. They mentioned the manifestation of powers as by-product, but I never expected to gain them!"
"So you just read books… Wait a minute, what do you mean, "you never expected them to manifest", if the book said they would, and where did you get books on psionic powers?"
"Umm, online? And they weren't just about "powers", like I said, it was about experiencing higher states of existence."
Adam still looked confused. I doubted that my explanation only added to it.
"But I'm still confused by you not expecting powers to develop, when these "books" still said they would."
"Because… Well… Okay, how do I put this…? These books are ancient. Well, they are translations of ancient texts or commentaries on those texts and related philosophies. I thought the "powers" were metaphors for something else. Like the control over fire mentioned in the Tantras were a metaphor for the control of the subtle fire within, giving power to kindle strife and struggles as well as make one immune to them and their effects."
Adam looked at me for a second with his head resting on his hand before straightening himself.
"Well I don't know about controlling fire, but I think you got what was advertised."
"I'm… It wasn't like that. The methods are supposed to awaken something within you, something of a "higher nature". It wasn't that I didn't believe in those powers, I just thought they couldn't manifest in me, or in anyone else in this era. That and the powers are meant to be the by-product, not the end goal in itself."
"Well… I doubt those books are still around if Advent found them. I doubt they could risk any more accidental psikers popping up. It sounds a lot different from my training."
"How were you trained? If you don't mind me asking."
Adam gave a short sigh and looked to the side before responding.
"Hmmm… I don't know how to describe it. How do I say this? It was like a monastery but… not a monastery?"
"Why a monastery?"
"We were kept indoors at all time. All we did was meditate, train our minds and bodies. My, uh, class, as you would say, had a leader that served as our teacher and guide. He was like us but was a bit taller and had blue skin. We called him Arusayam, meaning Teacher Aru."
His accent seemed to change suddenly when he mentioned the name of his leader. His voice changed to a low, shrilling tone that was quite shocking.
"He taught us how to use our psionic powers for many purposes. How to project beams, instil fear or panic. He would often have us dual one another in battles of sheer psychic willpower, trying to make the other faint. I finished basic training in about three years, then I became specialized as Regulator, with another year and a half of training after that."
"A Regulator?"
"A support unit. It was my job to keep the mental wellbeing in the troops in checks. Not like a therapist or anything, I used my psionics. If soldiers were panicked, frightened, demoralized, I gave them a psychic procedure that put them back on the field."
"So, you were a soldier?"
"Yes, but I never saw active combat. I remained in various bases across North America using my abilities on soldiers returning from missions. There were a few times that I was sent out on skirmishes when Advent were… doing their operations there, but I was stationed in the temporary base at all times."
"Sounds like a Cleric."
"A what?"
"It's, um, something like a military priest in human armies. They keep up the moral of the troops, but your use of psionics make me think of the clerics from fantasy games."
"Hmm. Well, Advent had something they called "priests", but I was nothing like them." He said looking to the side with a sneer on his face.
"Oh, um, I didn't mean…"
"Hey, its fine. You're learning, like you said."
His smile returned, and he tilted his head back a bit.
"It's incredible, looking back now. Each species had its own unique, uh, mindframe. Vipers were bound to their sisters and nest mother, Mutons had a sense of honour and brotherhood in combat. And I used these… hints of past worlds that the Elders had left untouched to rebuild their minds after battle trauma. The clones were another issue, even though they had most of their minds practically lobotomized in those areas, they had a unique and persisting problem whenever they did suffer battle trauma."
"What was that?"
"Difficult to explain… Basically, the mind doesn't recognize the trauma, but the body does. Due to the disconnect and repurpose of those areas of the brain in clones, they don't consciously feel stress, but the body does and reacts with symptoms like inability to sleep or rest, lethargy or fainting when out of combat and tense muscles, sometimes bordering on physical catatonia, if that's the right word."
"Wow." I said, astonished. A psychic medic, mentally operating on various aliens. It was a fascinating concept.
"Yeah, wow." He said flatly, looking downwards.
"Thing is, I wanna keep doing that. Helping people be alright in their minds. Not by using psionics, but just, talking to them, making them laugh, or smile. I always try to keep people around me in a good mood, even if that goes wrong sometimes."
"Sounds like you want to be a therapist."
"Sounds crazy, don't it? But really, you've got a whole plethora of peoples displaced both aliens and humans, recovering from war and still suffering the brunt of it. I just wish I could do more than just be some porter in a hospital."
"Adam, your work is appreciated. And I enjoy talking to you, so don't ever think that you're not doing enough. Hell, your ambitions might actually come true if you stick to your own words and keep positive."
Adam looked back up at me with a small smile on his face.
"Thanks, man."
We sat there in silence for a moment. I took the time to have some of my lunch, the mash was oddly sweet whilst the soup was very bland and watery.
"I remembered you said something about problems working with clones, but aren't you a clone?"
"Oh, yes. But Sectoids are cloned differently, you see-"
Adam was interrupted by Dr. Acharya having suddenly walked up to our table.
"Oh, good afternoon, Doctor."
"Yes, Adam, no time right now." The Doctor said, slightly flustered. The he turned to me.
"George, I need you to come with me for a moment. Eric, come with me."
"What's going on?"
"Some officials from the city have come to see you. Don't worry about it, everything's under control. We just need to clear things up."
I reluctantly left the table, having barely touched my lunch. Dr Acharya then looked down at Adam, who was watching the whole scene with concern.
"You should get back to work, Adam."
"Understood, sir."
As I walked back inside with Eric and Dr. Acharya on either side of me, I looked back and saw Adam get back up from his chair and give me a thumbs up sign. I returned the gesture, just before I was ushered back into the hall.